Unexpected
by LaraAelric
Summary: Sometimes help can come from someone you least expect


**A/N - An exploration of head!canons begins with the unexpected; a love of dance and a desire to stray from tradition. **

**This is what happens when you open up a document between two different people on the assumption that there's actually planning and plotting of how a story might evolve, and suddenly, there's more time spent discussing head!canon possibilities than actual plotting (that will follow at some time later). Who are we to suggest that Aubrey Posen isn't a fascinating enigma wrapped up in riddles and a conundrum at the same time? So this is really a small study of Aubrey Posen just after the Pool Mash-Up scene. There's a lot more head!canon ideas that have evolved from this, but we'll get to those in due time. ;) **

**- Laraaelric and Pdt-b**

Music drifted through the closed door, causing Beca to pause momentarily and listen. It held a ring of familiarity - as the notes transitioned, she realized with a start that someone was playing one of her mashups.

Had one of the Bellas arrived early to rehearsal? She didn't recall leaving her CDs in the auditorium, but each Bella had been given her own copy of the new setlist in preparation for the difficult road ahead of them. Beca figured they could at least get the songs down over the next week; choreography would be more difficult (her talent with music didn't reach much further than her mixing equipment, and she didn't yet have a program that would allow her to mashup dance moves) but she had faith that once they could sing it, they could dance to it.

Deciding it was past time to see which of the Bellas had decided to get the extra practice in, Beca quietly pushed open the auditorium doors. Rather than disturbing them, she was interested in seeing exactly how they were practicing; what she failed to take into account, however, was that the doors tended to close much louder than they opened.

The auditorium doors closed with a thud and Aubrey turned around at the soft sound, the music continuing in the background. Her expression of surprise was one for the ages, and Beca regretted not having her phone in hand... it would have made a good screensaver even if it meant having to look at Aubrey every time she answered the phone. The silence that floated between them settled into something comfortable - Aubrey silent because she wasn't certain of what to expect from the proverbial alt-girl that mashed music from chaos; Beca choosing to say nothing since what could you say to your Captain that wasn't something snarky or smirking. After all, the Bellas choreography had to come from somewhere, and if not from Chloe then Aubrey was the clear other option. Not to say that what she had seen was "traditional" choreography, afterall, a new setlist demanded new moves to accompany them, more importantly, moves that everyone could perform and be comfortable with.

It would have been amusing to see how long they could go without actually speaking, but even silence had to come to an end, and this time, it was broken with the door opening once more to reveal Chloe walking and texting at the same time. It wouldn't have been a problem had Beca moved out of the direct line of travel, but as it were, the collision was inevitable, and even Aubrey had to laugh at the abrupt meeting.

"Beca..." Chloe started, a trace of an exasperated whine in her voice, as if her own lack of attention to her surroundings hadn't been the main reason for the crash. "Doorways are for walking through, not standing in front-" She broke off upon spotting Aubrey standing in the center of the room. "Bree! I thought your study group was going to run late?"

The blonde's stance remained tense even as her eyes flickered between the two others in the room. "It got out early after all," she said, shrugging lamely, a defensive edge to her voice as she looked back to Beca, still uncertain as to what the DJ planned to say. When the words finally came, they weren't anything she had been mentally preparing herself for.

"Can you do that again?"

She blinked, carefully prepared retorts falling away when faced with the honest interest showing itself on Beca's face. "Aca-scuse me?"

Beca shifted uncomfortably, the lack of argument still unfamiliar territory on both ends. "That move you were just doing...Can you show it to me again?"

Under most circumstances, Aubrey would have her entire conversation planned out before it happened, complete with assumptions on what anyone else might say and backup lines in case their dialogue deviated. Now, faced with a conversation she had never expected to have, she was left stammering out, "Oh. Um...Alright." She quickly turned her back on them, retreating to the speaker system currently housing her iPod, with Beca watching her go.

Neither woman would see Chloe's gleeful expression - a combination of happenstance; who else but her knew of Aubrey's dance and choreography moves, and who else but her would be witnessing Beca making a friendly overture to someone who wasn't her. It was like the best of both worlds happening in front of her.

Aubrey occupied her hands for a long moment, fiddling long past the point where she was actually prepared to begin again what she had been running through for the past hour. It was a rare occasion for Aubrey Posen to outwardly show nerves or uncertainty, but when she finally turned back around, her face held a trace of both.

But only for an instant. Her eyes instinctively sought out Chloe's as the opening notes of the song filled the auditorium, and a surge of confidence filled her as she took in the redhead's reassuring smile. Taking a deep breath, she allowed her body to flow from one motion to the next in a dance that had, until that point, never known the feeling of someone else's gaze.

Aubrey approached, then surpassed the move Beca had requested to see, surging into the moveset she had prepared to follow. Though part of her yearned to look up and see her audience's reactions in real-time, the exhilaration of the dance propelled her forward and kept her moving until the final notes faded away, leaving the room in silence once again. Straightening, she met Beca's gaze defiantly, as if daring the DJ to comment negatively on her performance.

Comment would have meant moving her jaw and uttering words. Comment would have meant restarting her mind and finding words to form a sentence. At that moment, there were no words, and if the movement of muscles at her jaw were to be any indication, there might not be any words spoken any time soon. This was choreography and movement of the body that was as different from the very tired "hand-hearts" and side-step-shuffle as Beca's mashups were from the "tradition" that had bound the Bellas' playlist.

It was Chloe who finally broke the silence, as if sensing the outward flow of confidence that began within Aubrey when the rush of the dance faded away. Had the stretch been allowed to continue, it was certain that the tentative camaraderie that had begun to blossom between the former and current captains of the Bellas would have been shattered as first Aubrey's, then Beca's walls were rebuilt.

"Bree, that was aca-awesome!" she cheered, bringing her hands together in a light clapping motion that shook both girls from the unconscious staring contest happening between them.

Beca couldn't help the smirk that traced itself across what otherwise was an impassive expression. It was evident that there was a lightness in the new movements that Aubrey had performed that had never been seen in the previous choreography. It was almost as if she had found a way to reconcile her past and future all in the movements; everything flowed effortlessly, and certainly, Aubrey's bodily memory of the steps meant that she'd clearly spent a significant amount of time creating and then perfecting the motions.

Aubrey seemed to flourish under the praise - both Chloe's outspoken and Beca's silent. A low hum filled the air, and in that moment all three realized that the iPod was preparing to head to another song. Wordlessly, Aubrey spun around and shut the machine down, but not before Beca recognized the notes as the beginning to the next part of the setlist.

It was infinitely easier to compliment Aubrey's retreating back than it was to wait until she turned to face them again. "That was great, Aubrey," she said, infusing her voice with a level of enthusiasm that managed not to sound over-the-top.

"Thank you," the blonde said simply, grateful that her back was turned, giving her a moment to compose herself - not just of the pleasure of receiving the unexpected compliment, but also the echoing remainder of anxiety that still half-expected something to go wrong. The act of stopping the music player gave her equal opportunity to still trembling hands, an after-effect of such a personal act of public display, and only when she was confident in her composure did she turn to face the two again.

The silence that fell this time was tinged with the knowledge that a request for help would soon come. She could see it in the way Beca's eyes were focused on the spot where she had been dancing, lips pursed in thought as if trying to work through the choreography in her head. (They all knew it would take her at least a few days to get it down, if the season so far had been any indication.) Rather than pursuing the easy route and being the one to offer, she waited. Up until now, she'd been in the supplicant position far too often for her own liking - having Beca ask for help would help balance the scales somewhat.

"Can you show it to me again?" Beca asked suddenly. It wasn't quite the question Aubrey had been expecting, but this time, at least, it had ended up on her list of potential alternatives. She allowed herself a small smirk; it was clear that the DJ was reluctant to completely admit that she needed the assistance, but Aubrey admired that she was at least willing to give the moves a shot.

"We don't have much time before rehearsal," Aubrey pointed out, a familiar, authoritative edge creeping into her voice. It was that edge, even before she began walking back to the iPod, that signaled she was willing to do as Beca asked. "Follow along as best you can." The music began as she spoke, and she once again began to walk through movements ingrained already into her mind, perhaps even moreso than the old routine. This time around, she kept her eyes focused on the other two girls in the room.

Beca was clearly attempting to mimic what she saw, but as Aubrey had anticipated, one runthrough was not enough for memories to be retained. The DJ's looks towards Chloe for help on the movements proved to be a futile effort. After all, even Chloe was seeing this for the first time, and being a fast learner (and friend) didn't necessarily translate to choreography. Chloe's grin never faded as she sought to redirect Beca's attention back to Aubrey - no matter what else happened, the only person teaching the choreography on this day was Aubrey.

The music faded out, and Beca's gaze rose slowly to lock with Aubrey's, whose face had by then been masked in cool indifference. The familiar expression actually made it easier for her to finally speak up. "What do you think," she began, doing her best to sound casual, as though they didn't both know she wouldn't be able to do it on her own. "about maybe...helping me come up with the choreography for rest of the set?"

Aubrey met her gaze, pausing to savor a moment which might never come again. It was a moment of pride, accompanied by unexpected relief to know that while she might not be choosing the set list, she would still be actively contributing to the creation of the final performance.

Then, she allowed herself the smallest of smirks, and nodded. Anything that might have been said faded into a murmur as the first group of Bellas stepped into the rehearsal space. Aubrey busied herself with drawing out the footwork of the new movements, certainly it would be more than mere side-steps, and pondered how many of the whiteboards would be needed to show all ten Bellas on stage. Perhaps this rehearsal was better spent getting everyone in sync in terms of the lyrics and beats as she pondered how the new choreography would translate across ten individuals.

A Captain's work was never done.


End file.
